Acting · Islington, London, England, UK · Born January 14, 1967
Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse. She was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress for the latter. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as a newlywed in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her portrayal of Jacqueline du Pré in Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie (1998). Watson's other films include The Boxer (1997), Angela's Ashes (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Red Dragon (2002), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), Miss Potter (2006), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), War Horse (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), God's Creatures (2022), and Small Things like These (2024). and A Pariare Farm Girl ( 2026). She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for playing Janet Leach in the 2011 ITV television biopic Appropriate Adult. She was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for the 2017 BBC miniseries Apple Tree Yard. In 2024, she portrayed the lead role of Valya Harkonnen in the HBO science fiction series Dune: Prophecy. Watson is a supporter of the children's charity the NSPCC. In 2004, she was inducted into the society's hall of fame for spearheading the successful campaign to appoint a Children's Commissioner for England. Receiving her award in the crowded House of Commons, she spoke out against the possibility that the Children's Commissioner become a figurehead with little real power.
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as Self (archive footage)
MovieHamnet
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as Mary
MovieSteve
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as Jenny
MovieThe Legend of Ochi
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as Dasha
TVDune: Prophecy
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as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen
MovieSmall Things Like These
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as Sister Mary
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as Queenie Epstein
TVFired on Mars
2023
as Sheila (voice)
MovieGod's Creatures
2022
as Aileen O'Hara
MovieMonster Family 2
2021
as Emma Wishbone (voice)
TVToo Close
2021
as Dr. Emma Robinson
TVThe Third Day
2020
as Mrs. Martin
TVChernobyl
2019
as Ulana Khomyuk
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2018
as Regan
MovieThe Happy Prince
2018
as Constance Wilde
MovieWeinstein
2018
as Narrator (voice)
MovieOn Chesil Beach
2018
as Violet Ponting
TVLittle Women
2017
as Marmee March
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2017
as Chief of Staff Fox
MovieMonster Family
2017
as Emma Wishbone (voice)
TVGenius
2017
as Elsa Einstein
TVApple Tree Yard
2017
as Yvonne Carmichael
MovieThe Dresser
2015
as Her Ladyship
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2015
as Helen Wilton
MovieA Song for Jenny
2015
as Julie Nicholson
TVThe Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
2015
as Grace McKee
MovieA Royal Night Out
2015
as Queen Elizabeth
MovieLittle Boy
2015
as Emma Busbee
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2015
as Miss Trinklebury
MovieTestament of Youth
2015
as Mrs. Brittain
MovieThe Theory of Everything
2014
as Beryl Wilde
MovieThe Book Thief
2013
as Rosa Hubermann
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2013
as Lindsay
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2013
as Lady Mansfield
TVThe Politician's Husband
2013
as Freya Gardner
MovieAnna Karenina
2012
as Countess Lydia Ivanova
MovieWar Horse
2011
as Rose Narracott
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2011
as Narrator
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2011
as Janet Leach
MovieOranges and Sunshine
2010
as Margaret Humphreys
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2010
as Mrs. Kendrick
MovieWithin the Whirlwind
2009
as Evgenia Ginzburg
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2009
as Claire
MovieSynecdoche, New York
2008
as Tammy
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2008
as Jane Lawrence
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2008
as Caroline Gil
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2007
as Anne MacMorrow
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2006
as Millie Warne
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2006
as Mary Vega
MovieThe Proposition
2005
as Martha Stanley
MovieSeparate Lies
2005
as Anne Manning
MovieCorpse Bride
2005
as Victoria Everglot (voice)
MovieWah-Wah
2005
as Ruby Compton
MovieThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2004
as Anne Sellers
TVWorking Shakespeare
2003
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2003
as Self
MovieEquilibrium
2002
as Mary O'Brien
MovieBallchewer
2002
as Self
MoviePunch-Drunk Love
2002
as Lena Leonard
MovieRed Dragon
2002
as Reba McClane
MovieThe Making of Gosford Park
2002
as Self
MovieGosford Park
2001
as Elsie
MovieThe Luzhin Defence
2000
as Natalia Katkov
MovieTrixie
2000
as Trixie Zurbo
MovieAngela's Ashes
1999
as Angela McCourt
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1999
as Olive Stanton
TVThe Early Show
1999
as Self
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1998
as Jackie du Pré
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
1998
as Self
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1997
as Maggie Hamill
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1997
MovieThe Mill on the Floss
1997
as Maggie Tulliver
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1997
as Marion
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1996
as Bess McNeill
A Summer Day's Dream
1994
TVPerformance
1991
as Rosalie
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
Midday Sun
as Sarah
Late in Summer
Fado!
MovieA Christmas Child
as Emily Watson ( Self/Narrator )
The Clockmaker’s Secret: Lost in Spindlewood
as The Keeper of the Keys
London Fog: A Ruby Gale Mystery
as (The Detective)
Holly Noel: The Winter Ball (Christmas 3)
as ( Host )
Amri
as Marie Antoinette Gottesman
RSC Meets USA: Working Shakespeare
as Self
